CLICK & WATCH: I got BULLSHIDO ON TV!!!
"Bruce Lee sucks because I slammed my nuts with nunchucks trying to do that stupid **** back in the day. I still managed to have two kids. I forgive you Bruce." - by Vorpal

Maybe I have the one oddly positive series to relate. And yes, at the time, I was an instructor of the deadly __ing __un.

1) Instructor was a cross-trained multi-styles of kung-fu and western boxing.

2) We sparred, and a number of us (including myself) fought in tournaments and worked in bars as bouncers.

3) The problem was never, could I hang with another stand up stylist that had trained for about as long as I had, and I could easily win against an idiot at the bar, the problem was that I got my ass handed to me by a Jiu-Jitsu fighter.

4) Asked my __ing __un instructor what I should do about it, he told me to start cross training Jiu-Jitsu.

A little while back I decided to try a MA. Didn't know anything up to date about MAs at all. Some internet sources said WC was very effective, and not kicking-based was good for me since I have short legs, so I joined a WC club. The lessons I did concentrated on a thing called the "arrow walk", which the instructor was very keen we did right down to the last detail, also "rolling hands" drill (lok sau ?). Did a bit of punch and simultaneous block and counter.

The thing for me was that ALL the movements felt extremely unnatural. I couldn't see how even after 10 years of drilling, these would ever feel natural. I watched the advanced students doing their forms - couldn't understand the fighting applications of them at all.

Only lasted about 6 lessons in all - after more internet searching (a bit more thorough this time), I joined an MMA based club (yeah my legs are still short, so I can't kick anyone above the thigh!). Now I sweat, ache, get bruised every week, but somehow I think I'm enjoying it. Wierd really.

My first MA was Wing Chun. One day, as I watched "Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story" I realized that there were remarkable similarities between the dummy form I was being taught by "Sifu" and the one performed by young Bruce in the film. "There can be only one explanation!!!" I thought. "I'm learning the same type of WC that Bruce knew!!!" Keep in mind I was 12 at the time. When I was 13, my science teacher taught us about Occam's Razor* and I realized that "Sifu" was in fact a massive LARPer; He had been teaching me techniques from kung fu movies. Thank god I never actually got into a fight... On the upside, it drove me away from CMA forever.

*Occam's Razor is a theory against unnecessary hypothesis. The Backbone is "entia non sunt multiplicanda pra eter necessitatem" or "entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity( i.e. all things being equal, the simplest solution is usually the right one). By definition, all assumptions introduce possibilities for error; If an assumption does not improve the accuracy of a theory, its only effect is to increase the probability that the overall theory is wrong.

Maybe I have the one oddly positive series to relate. And yes, at the time, I was an instructor of the deadly __ing __un.

1) Instructor was a cross-trained multi-styles of kung-fu and western boxing.

2) We sparred, and a number of us (including myself) fought in tournaments and worked in bars as bouncers.

3) The problem was never, could I hang with another stand up stylist that had trained for about as long as I had, and I could easily win against an idiot at the bar, the problem was that I got my ass handed to me by a Jiu-Jitsu fighter.

4) Asked my __ing __un instructor what I should do about it, he told me to start cross training Jiu-Jitsu.

5) It was a very long time ago, now I am a JJ stylist.

I concur that not all WC places are bad. Most of my wing chun training was on a more personal level though. While in my early teens my father married a hawaiian woman, who had two sons. They were raised in the "rough" areas of Hawaii. Thus I started learning wing chun from my step brother. The training was nothing like what I later found at commercial schools though. I didn't learn any of the forms, nor did I really do much chi sao. My step brother felt that the techniques in wing chun were good, but that there was a lot of crap too. So I learned the punches, parries, trapping, kicks, etc...through actual two man work, sparring, and the like. I also simultaneously trained in muay thai with my stepbrother's best friend (he was from thailand). So my early chun and muay thai training were kind mixed together.

Later, I went to a few commercial places, but didn't stay long. I didn't like having to go back and simply do chain punches, or footwork, or the form set the entire class. And athough I got pretty good at chi sao, I didn't particularly like doing it (I also noticed that those that were very good at it, often times weren't very good at full contact fighting--though I feel that this is because they spent all their time practicing chi sao in place of sparring).

The best wing chun place I found though, was a wing tsun place of the Boztepe camp. The class consisted of basic exercises, a little bit of form work, and the rest of the time was focus mitts, bag work, partner work, or sparring. The end of every class was a 30 minute circuit training program. The instructor was an ex-bouncer (who now was a lawyer and owned his own nightclub) and was in VERY VERY good shape. The class wasn't against learning other techniques that were proven in fighting, I often times found myself on my back and the training evolving into grappling. The instructors good friend was a judo/jujutsu stylist who would come in from time to time to give us some tips about ground work as well.

I didn't stay there though...because although the training was good, I honestly didn't feel like going through the politics and money costs of going through the ranking system. Not to mention that I have a broken wrist with a screw in it. The chain punching on the wall matts was doing a number on my wrist.

In any case--my wing chun hypothosis is that it provides some good threories and relatively simple tools. I think that idea of simultaneous block and attack is a good one, I think the ideals of efficiency are well intended, and I think that some people can become very effective with it. But it's nowhere near being as dependable as other arts that train with a better regimen.

My first MA was Wing Chun. One day, as I watched "Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story" I realized that there were remarkable similarities between the dummy form I was being taught by "Sifu" and the one performed by young Bruce in the film. "There can be only one explanation!!!" I thought. "I'm learning the same type of WC that Bruce knew!!!" Keep in mind I was 12 at the time. When I was 13, my science teacher taught us about Occam's Razor* and I realized that "Sifu" was in fact a massive LARPer; He had been teaching me techniques from kung fu movies. Thank god I never actually got into a fight... On the upside, it drove me away from CMA forever.

*Occam's Razor is a theory against unnecessary hypothesis. The Backbone is "entia non sunt multiplicanda pra eter necessitatem" or "entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity( i.e. all things being equal, the simplest solution is usually the right one). By definition, all assumptions introduce possibilities for error; If an assumption does not improve the accuracy of a theory, its only effect is to increase the probability that the overall theory is wrong.

I already did Judo for a long time and want to do some striking stuff. Training Luta Livre for ground and takedowns now and have no alternative other than to do the Chun for strikes and defending strikes.

No Boxing there, TKD is th3 L0L here, Muay Thai not available, Karate is a McDojo.

And in my eyes WT is not worth less than nothing. Not much more though, but definitely not less.